Long Beach State had all five of its hits in a six-run fourth and Andrew Rohrbach worked into the ninth for the second-seeded Dirtbags, who defeated No. 3 seed North Carolina 6-1 Friday afternoon at the University of Florida’s McKethan Stadium. Tom Zengel and Landon Lassiter had two hits each for the Tar Heels, who will face the loser of the Florida-College of Charleston game in an elimination contest Saturday at 1 p.m.

Rohrbach and Carolina starter Trent Thornton traded zeroes until the bottom of the fourth, when LBSU (33-24) scored all six of its runs. Garrett Hampson reached on an infield single to lead off the inning before moving to third on a wild pitch and a groundout to first. The next six Dirtbag hitters would reach against Thornton (7-4) and Trevor Kelley, and when the dust settled Long Beach led 6-0.

For Thornton, the 3.1-inning start was the shortest of his career and the first of 2014 that didn’t last at least five innings. Kelley allowed a two-run double Colton Vaughn to cap the scoring, but the six runs would prove to be plenty for Rohrbach (7-2).

The redshirt sophomore who threw just four innings in junior college in 2013 needed just 94 pitches to work into the ninth. Carolina (34-26) didn’t get a runner past second until the ninth, when Michael Russell led off with a double off the wall. Two batters later, Lassiter singled home pinch-runner Adam Pate to put the Tar Heels on the board.

Long Beach closer Ty Provencher got the final two outs after Lassiter’s RBI hit, with a Tyler Ramirez blast to the wall in right center ending it and sending the Tar Heels to the loser’s bracket.

Kelley, Henry Sisson and A.J. Bogucki retired the final 14 hitters they faced, as the Dirtbags had just one baserunner all afternoon outside the fourth inning.

UNC will send Benton Moss to the hill in Saturday’s elimination game against the loser of Friday night’s Florida-College of Charleston matchup. With a victory Saturday, Carolina would play again Sunday at 1.

Related Stories
‹
Five-Run Inning Helps UNC Baseball Avoid Sweep vs. Long Beach State
Over the first two games of its three-game series with Long Beach State–which both ended in losses–the eighth-ranked UNC baseball team managed to scrape together just five hits in each game. With a chance to avoid being swept by the Dirtbags at Boshamer Stadium on Sunday, the Tar Heel bats woke up and put together […]
Dirtbags Take Series Opener From UNC, Hand Tar Heels Second Straight Loss
After losing its first game of the season earlier this week at the hands of St. Johns, the eighth-ranked UNC baseball team dropped another heartbreaker on Friday at Boshamer Stadium–after freshman closer Josh Hiatt’s first career blown save ended up in a 5-2 loss to the Long Beach State Dirtbags. The Dirtbags (5-4) scored four […]
Recurring Troubles Doom Tar Heels In NCAA Dirtbag Duel
The North Carolina baseball team saw its season come to an end Monday afternoon in a 12-5 loss to Long Beach State in the Gainesville regional.
Tar Heels Fall To Long Beach State, 12-5
North Carolina saw its season come to an end with a 12-5 loss to Long Beach State Monday afternoon at McKethan Stadium. Long Beach scored twice in the seventh after having two on with one out when the game was halted late Sunday due to torrential rain and unplayable field conditions.
Tar Heels-Dirtbags Contest To Resume Monday
Game five of the 2014 NCAA Gainesville Regional between North Carolina and Long Beach State was halted due to rain with the Dirtbags leading 5-4 in the top of the seventh and will be resumed Monday at noon at McKethan Stadium.
Fox, Underdog Tar Heels Prepare For NCAAs
The third-seeded North Carolina baseball team, 34-25 overall, will embark on the Road to Omaha when it faces second-seeded Long Beach State, sporting a 32-24 record, Friday at 1 p.m. at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
Long Beach State Silences Tar Heel Bats, Clinches Series Win in Chapel Hill
If traveling all the way across the country is supposed to have any effect on baseball players, the Long Beach State pitching staff has yet to show it. The Dirtbags clinched a series victory at Boshamer Stadium on Saturday, after limiting the eighth-ranked Tar Heels to just five hits in a 4-1 win. Junior second […]
Former UNC Star Michael Busch Shines at MLB All-Star Futures Game
Former UNC star Michael Busch became just the fourth Tar Heel to ever play in the MLB All-Star Futures Game on Sunday, and made the most of his time on the field. Busch was selected in the first round (31st overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and has been playing […]
No. 2 Seed UCLA Ends Season for No. 3 Seed UNC at NCAA Baseball Tournament
Having used up the arms of many of the team’s top pitchers over the first two days at the NCAA Baseball Tournament Lubbock Regional, No. 3 seed UNC suffered a season-ending loss to No. 2 seed UCLA on Sunday by a score of 12-2. The Tar Heels (28-27) gave reliever Connor Ollio just his third […]
Top-Seeded Texas Tech Powers Past No. 3 Seed UNC, Puts Tar Heels on Brink of Elimination
Saturday night in Lubbock saw the top-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders prove why they earned the right to host an NCAA Regional, as they put No. 3 seed UNC on the brink of tournament elimination with a 7-2 victory in their home stadium. The Tar Heels came into the night riding the high of an […]
›